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  • Gunnera manicata

Gunnera manicata

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Common name: Giant rhubarb


Gunnera manicata's common name, giant rhubarb, is an allusion to the shape of the large, palmate leaves of cultivated rhubarb, but there is no relationship between them. G. manicata's leaves reach a width of three metres, with stalks similar in length.


G. manicata is native to southeastern Brazil. It is a thick, prickly stemmed perennial, producing tiny flowers in dense, cone-like inflorescences in early summer. The small seeds ripen into bright orange fruits. In our Garden, its dormant buds can be damaged by late-spring frosts so plants are protected by a mulch of old leaves from the previous season. The plants grow largest near open water.


150 million years old, the genus Gunnera was named after the Norwegian botanist, Johann Ernst Gunnerus (1718-1773), and contains about 40-63 species (depending which reference you read), distributed across much of the southern hemisphere. G. manicata is the largest species.


All Gunnera species form a symbiosis with Nostoc punctiforme, a genus of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, allowing growth in areas lacking fixed nitrogen in the soil.


Dinosaur Food anyone? Imagine a tasty snack of Manicata Salad! Delicious if you are a hungry Sauropod!


More information about cyanobacteria and invasiveness (Hughie Jones).


*content provided by Leslie

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  • Home
  • Updates
    • What's New
    • Garden Stories >
      • Garden Story Index
    • Self-Guided Tours
    • Gardener Walks
    • Curator Updates
    • Guide Training
    • Walks & Talks >
      • Walks and Talks 2025
      • Walks and Talks 2024
      • Walks and Talks 2023
      • Walks and Talks 2022
      • Walks -Talks 2021 & Zoom Tips
    • PDFs of Updates, Tours, & Talks >
      • Self-guided Tours (PDF)
      • Gardener Walks (PDF)
  • Plant IDs
    • ID By Flower Color >
      • Red Flowers
      • Pink Flowers
      • Orange Flowers
      • Yellow Flowers
      • Green Flowers
      • Blue Flowers
      • Purple Flowers
      • White Flowers
    • ID By Type >
      • Annuals
      • Berries-Fruits-Nuts
      • Bulbs, Corms, Rhizomes, Tubers >
        • Bulbs
        • Corms
        • Rhizomes
        • Tubers
      • Ferns
      • Grasses
      • Medicinal Plants
      • Native Plants
      • Perennials >
        • Peonies
        • Salvias
      • Rhododendrons >
        • Rhodendron Erica Notes
      • Shrubs >
        • Calycanthus
        • Hydrangeas >
          • Hydrangea Background
        • Peonies >
          • Peonies-Overview
        • Rhododendrons
        • Roses >
          • Rose Background
      • Trees >
        • Conifers >
          • Cypress
          • Firs
          • Pines
        • Conifer Connect Exhibit
        • Deciduous Trees >
          • Dogwoods
          • Ginkgos
          • Magnolias
          • Witch Hazels
        • Native Trees
        • Tree of the Month
  • In the Garden
    • Map and Collection Lists >
      • Plant Locator
    • Art in the Garden >
      • Symposium & Exhibitions
    • Building and Grounds >
      • Bridges
      • Formal Rose Garden Hardscape and Art
      • Grotto Area & Black Garden
      • Korean Pavilion
      • Maze
    • Gardener Assignments
    • Collections >
      • Ash Collection
      • Camellia Collection
      • Rhododendron Walk
    • Gardens >
      • Gardens A-D >
        • Alma VanDusen Garden
        • Backyard Bird Garden
        • Bentall Garden
        • Black Garden
        • Canadian Heritage Garden >
          • Bees
          • Canadian Heritage Orchard
        • Cascadia Garden
        • Cherry Grove
        • Chilean Garden
      • Gardens E-H >
        • Eastern North America Garden
        • Fern Dell
        • Formal Rose Garden
        • Fragrance Garden
        • Heather Garden
        • Herb Garden
        • Heritage Rose Garden
      • Gardens I-P >
        • Laburnum Walk
        • Livingstone Lake
        • Meconopsis Dell
        • Meditation Garden
        • Mediterranean Garden
        • Ornamental Grasses
        • Perennial Garden
      • Gardens R-Z >
        • Rhododendron Walk
        • Sino-Himayalan Region
        • South African Garden
        • Southern Hemisphere
        • Stone Garden
        • Vegetable Garden
        • Woodland Garden
    • Garden History >
      • History photos
  • Science
    • Animals & Insects >
      • Birds
      • Butterflies and Moths
      • Insect Friends
      • Small Creatures
    • Buds
    • Colour and Vision
    • Dynamic Symmetry - Fibonacci Spirals
    • Flowers
    • Fruit
    • Germination
    • Habitats and Environments
    • Hormones
    • Leaves
    • Life on Earth
    • Light, Energy, and Rainbows
    • Plant Calendars
    • Pollination
    • Pollen
    • Roots
    • Scents
    • Seeds
    • Soil
    • Stems
    • Vascular Plants
    • Web of Interdependence
    • Weeds
  • Bloedel
  • Search
    • Internet links
  • About
    • ERICA, ERICA'S TREE (and a short history of Guiding) - June 14, 2018
  • Contact